Register keeps track of training

A Lorien Engineering Solutions product story

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Apr 6, 2004

Project management specialist Lorien Engineering Solutions (LES) has a new string to its bow.

Project management specialist Lorien Engineering Solutions (LES) has a new string to its bow.

The company is best known for managing a wide range of projects in the food, brewing, drinks, pharmaceutical and industrial sectors.

A further specialist skill of the firm is improving the unit cost of production for manufacturers by employing a business change programme called manufacturing reliability.

The programme has been deployed with great success across a wide range of industries, adding millions of pounds to the customer's bottom-line performance for comparatively little expenditure.

Now, Lichfield-based LES has added a new feature to its manufacturing reliability offering with the introduction of an interactive training register system.

This was developed by LES with manufacturers in mind but has proved so successful that the firm now uses it to monitor its own training programmes.

The system has been developed by Manufacturing Reliability Programme Manager Andy Cooper.

He said: "A key requirement for manufacturing reliability programmes is that we work with all levels of an organisation, from senior executives to the shop floor".

"One issue we have encountered is the level of training provided to operatives and their team leaders".

"This affects whether they have the correct skills to undertake the work required of them and, in turn, whether a manufacturing reliability programme can be successful".

"Many personnel or HR departments are able to organise a range of training, such as NVQ, safety and hygiene training, but they need to also consider what are the particular skills required on their production lines, especially when they have production operatives performing basic maintenance tasks, and the more proficient operators being promoted to team leaders and shift supervisors".

"Personnel at all levels must have the right skills both to minimise product risk, ensure good health and safety, and to successfully manage teams".

"Sometimes there are several hundred people working in a food plant and it is quite difficult to measure their training needs and achievements across a number of departments and/or production lines".

LES identified that this was a major issue for one of its clients and developed an interactive training register software system to track the training requirement and training completion of staff across a number of departments.

The system allows analysis of how much training is outstanding both per skill group and per operational area, for example showing that 75% of team leaders have had leadership training or that 60% of all food line operatives have achieved NVQ1 in food hygiene.

Cooper said: "This has proved an excellent way of tracking and identifying training requirements both for individuals and for individual production lines or manufacturing cells".

"It can be modified to suit the particular needs of any of our clients".

"Monitoring training effectively is a pre-requisite of ISO9000:2000 and it can contribute to achieving Investors in People by demonstrating best practice".

"It has proved so successful with our customers that we have created a version for ourselves to track our own training policies within our engineering design environment".